The Joint Study of Inservice in Washington State. Final Report and Recommendations.

Washington Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Olympia.

Three Washington state agencies, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Council for Postsecondary Education, and the State Board of Education, cooperated in gathering data on the potential impact of the Council's off-campus plan for the inservice training of kindergarten through grade 12 certified personnel. The study evolved into an investigation of definitions and needs in inservice education and the current and future roles of schools of education. The report is in six sections: (1) an introduction; (2) an account of study procedures; (3) a review of literature and inservice activity in a national context; (4) findings on the status and nature of inservice activities in Washington; (5) the role of colleges and universities in inservice training; and (6) an overview and description of the off-campus plan. One result of the study was the distinction made between professional development (program-related and credit-bearing) and staff development (all post-certificate educational activities except additional certificate and degree work). The executive staff recommendations covered both professional and staff development, including a call for greater state and local agency cooperation, the development of a state plan for staff development, quality control guidelines, and the continuation of support for the off-campus plan. (FG)